15 Interesting Dragon Ball Z Facts

Arguably the greatest Japanese anime television series, Dragon Ball Z is nothing short of an addiction. Revolving around super saiyan Goku and his friends defending the Earth from intergalactic threats, the series has been insanely popular not only in Japan but around the globe: Movies, apparel, conventions, card games, board games, video games, Dragon Ball Figures, cafes, and Dragon ball themed bars. You name it, you can find it. Dragon Ball isn’t just a show, it’s a movement. Take a look at some of the 15 interesting Dragon Ball Z facts:

15. Gohan Was Meant to Replace Goku

As the franchise character of Dragon Ball Z, it is hard to imagine anyone other than Goku as the leading character of the series yet creator Akira Toriyama actually thought about killing him and making his son Gohan as his replacement.

There is no doubt that the resemblance between Goku and Gohan is uncanny and the latter showed unprecedented potential as fighter at a very young age, but fans expressed a huge amount of disapproval and thankfully, Goku was never killed … for real.

14. Master Roshi Cannot Die From Old Age

The frail yet powerful Master Roshi is more than 350 years old. Considering how a ton of strange things have happened in the world of Dragon Ball Z, the fact that he cannot die of old age is certainly a least surprising one.

Responsible for training Goku, Grandpa Gohan, Yamcha, Krillin and Ox-King, the wise yet perverted master is one of the most vital characters of the series. As far as the explanation for not dying due to old age is concerned, Master Roshi once had an immortal phoenix bird who bestowed him eternal life.

13. The Android Twins Have Names

Created by Dr. Gero to take down Goku, Android 17 and Android 18 were a force to reckon with before changing their allegiance. Despite the twins renowned by numeral digits, they actually have names.

Android 17’s real name is Lapis and Android 18’s real name is Lazuli. Notorious delinquents who had a knack for causing trouble, the two were kidnapped by Dr. Gero and experimented upon in order to make them androids.

12. Goku and Gohan are Voiced by a Woman

Like father, like son. Despite both being males, it is the famous Japanese actress Masako Nozawa who voices them. Debuting as a child actor at the age of 3, she slowly moved to voice roles and made her way to Dragon Ball Z.

As surprising as it may sound, the father-son pair of Goku and Gohan are not the only ones to be voiced by Nozawa. Apart from Raditz, she is the voice behind every male member of Goku’s family.

11. Creator Akira Toriyama’s Favorite Character is Piccolo

With more than a dozen iconic characters unique in their own way, every fan is bound to have one of them feeling more attached to and creator Akira Toriyama is no exception.

From super saiyans to androids, Toriyama’s favorite character from Dragon Ball Z is the Namakian warrior Piccolo.

“It really is cliché when bad guys turn into good guys, but it just feels great drawing it,”

states Toriyama.

10. Goku has Only Killed Two Characters

As one of the most skilled fighters and the star of the show, one might expect Goku to have killed dozens of people but as surprising as it may sound, he has only managed to kill two people.

When you look at the big picture, the fact might not be as surprising as it may seem considering how merciful Goku is – even if you kill one of his friends or kidnap his son. Unlike Vegeta who takes immense delight in killing, the mere two characters whose life has been taken by Goku are Babidi’s minion Yakon and Kid Buu.

9. Gohan has Killed 15 Characters

Unlike his father, Gohan has treated a lot of villains like punching bags. As previously stated, Goku has only killed two characters but the death count achieved by his son reaches an appalling amount of 15.

From members of the Spice Gang to seven Cell juniors, step aside Adam Sandler! You do not mess with Gohan. Out of all his battles, his encounter with Perfect Cell stands out as the best one of all.

8. Goku’s Voice Actor Passed Out While Screaming

No fight is complete without the saiyans screaming while transforming into super saiyans and that is where Goku’s English language voice actor Sean Schemmel comes in. Screaming for minutes can certainly take its toll and he revealed that he actually lost consciousness as a result of it while dubbing his voice.

As far as the transformation is concerned, it was during the dub of super saiyan 4 transformation in Dragon Ball GT when Schemmel passed out from screaming and woke up a few moments later while lying on the floor.